


Wedding Gift for a Friend

by taylor_tut



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 10:39:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19828435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taylor_tut/pseuds/taylor_tut
Summary: Just a fluffy little feel-good scene for a friend on my tumblr who just got married. :)





	Wedding Gift for a Friend

If there was one thing Tony was good at, it was putting up a front. 

Different people framed that in different lights: Steve might say it was because he was nothing without the mask; Rhodey might say it was because he didn't like himself enough to show what was behind it. Virginia Potts, however, had seen the years of practice that had gone into forming it. She knew what Tony believed happened when he let his guard down, and she knew that he was often, tragically, correct in assuming that people would take advantage of his weakness or exploit his insecurities. 

She never pressured him. She never rushed his process of opening up. She never even called him out on things that she knew were blatant lies about his mental state. Her job was to meet Tony wherever he was in the recovery process, and she did it well. 

"How long have you been down here, Tony?" Pepper asked, startling Tony from his laser-focus on the hologram in front of him. He blinked a few times, trying and failing to play off the jump he'd done in his seat as a stretch. 

"Uh," he stalled, "I don't remember. FRIDAY?"

"It's been approximately six hours," the AI's voice came from the ceiling, "since you last left the lab for any length of time, and nearly 38 since you've left for more than 90 minutes."

Tony winced; Pepper knew he knew that was bad so she didn't have to say it. 

"You've got to be hungry," she said instead. Tony broke into a wide grin. 

"Like you wouldn't believe. Are you feeling up to eating?" 

The first trimester had been rough on her, particularly in regards to eating. Some days, she couldn't stomach anything more than dry toast (if that), while others, she felt like she did nothing but eat some of the strangest combinations of foods that she'd ever concocted. Right now, she nodded. 

"Only for Mexican," she qualified, "and only that one place you took me for our six month anniversary." 

Tony laughed. "You mean Mexico?" he asked. Her mouth fell open at that revelation. He'd told her to pick a food she was craving and she'd said tacos, but they'd taken Tony's jet, and he'd blindfolded her until they were inside the restaurant, which he'd rented every table inside so they could be alone. She'd assumed that it was somewhere not far and that the jet had just been to show off, and it had worked, since they'd fooled around a bit in the back. Pepper frowned. Today wasn't an awful day, but she really didn't want to go that far. 

"Never mind, then," she said, gesturing to her outfit. "I'm already in my pyjamas." 

"I'm sure they deliver," Tony smiled. They most certainly would NOT, but if Tony wanted to spend a ridiculous sum of money to send a runner to get her a pregnancy craving food, Pepper wasn't about to stop him. 

He was tired. She could see that much in his posture, on his face. A few years ago, she wouldn't have even been allowed down here when he was in a mood like this, because clearly whatever he was working on was pretty important, as he didn't often leave her side these days unless it was absolutely necessary. Just to be allowed to have a few minutes with him was an improvement, so to watch Tony Stark save his project and turn off his screen entirely to follow her upstairs to go watch a movie in their bedroom while they waited for food—well, that was more than she'd ever thought him capable of giving. He'd told her once before that she was all that he had, but that wasn't true: he could have anything in the world. She was just the only thing that he cared about. She slipped her hand into his and squeezed, smiling as he did the same. Finally, they could both get some rest, even if it only ever lasted a moment shy of long enough. 


End file.
